City Council
Staff Report
From: City Manager
Report Type: 2025 ANNUAL COUNCIL RETREAT PROGRAM
Lead Department: City Manager
Meeting Date: January 25, 2025
Report #:2501-3976
TITLE
City Council Retreat: Discussion and Selection of the 2025 City Council Priorities
RECOMMENDATION
Receive key inputs for 2025 Priority Setting including Community and Councilmember feedback; and that the Council adopt the 2025 Priorities.
BACKGROUND
Each year the Council reviews its priorities at its Annual Council Retreat. There is a goal of no more than three to four priorities per year. A Council priority is defined as a topic that will receive particular and significant attention during the year1. The 2024 Council Priorities are:
•Economic Development and Transition
•Climate Change and the Natural Environment: Protection and Adaptation •Housing for Social and Economic Balance
•Community Health, Safety, Wellness & Belonging
ANALYSIS
Following the Policy and Services Committee (P&S) recommendation from the December 10, 20242 meeting and in consultation with the Mayor, the Annual Retreat agenda has been updated and included in Attachment A. This report outlines and provides context for each of the agenda items.
1 City Council Procedures and Protocols Handbook, page 35, https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/files/assets/public/v/6/city-clerk/city-charterprocedures/2024-adopted-council- protocols-and-procedures-manual-10.2024.pdf
2 Policy & Services Committee Meeting 12/10/2024
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=14557
The retreat will begin with welcoming remarks by the Mayor, and introductory comments from each Council member.
Staff will then review key inputs (Item 3) to assist the Council in its priority setting discussion including a look back at highlights from the progress made in 2024. This will be followed by Public Comment, another key input.
The Council will then discuss and finalize its 2025 Priorities (item 4). This will be followed by a discussion of strategies to achieve the goals of those priorities (item 5), specifically including a discussion of the Council standing and ad hoc (temporary) committees planned for the year.
Staff anticipates this will include discussion of Council engagement on the priorities as well as community engagement, and management of resources. As time permits, Council can begin initial discussions on 2025 Objectives (item 6), while recognizing that this will necessarily be an initial discussion since staff will need to return at a subsequent meeting after evaluating what can be accomplished within available resources. Finally, the retreat will conclude with a debrief and next steps (item 7) which will include staff returning with recommended Objectives and Committee workplans.
Definitions
Throughout this report and our ongoing discussion of priorities, a few terms are used frequently, with specific definitions:
Priority – One of the 3-4 focus topics that the City Council has selected for specific attention in order to address community needs.
Objective – A discrete project or milestone intended to be achieved within the year.
Strategy – A new term this year, reflecting an overarching approach to managing an issue, reflecting a long-term or multidimensional perspective.
Agenda Item 3. Discuss Key Inputs
As part of the Priority Setting process, the Handbook outlines that staff solicit input from the Council and the public on the priorities to be reviewed and considered for the following year.
In addition to the inputs described below, the annual Palo Alto Community Survey provides a periodic snapshot of residents’ perspectives. A Council study session on this survey was held on December 9, 20243.
3 Council Study Session on Palo Alto Community Survey Results:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/meetings/ItemWithTemplateType?id=6566&meetingTemplateType=2&comp iledMeetingDocumentId=12534
Council Feedback on Priorities
At its December 10, 2024 meeting, the Policy and Services Committee (P&S) reviewed the 2024 Council Priorities and proposed 2025 priority setting process. The Committee’s only specific recommendation came from Chair Kou recommending the Council consider edits to the Climate Change Priority as suggested by Councilmember Veenker: “Climate and Sustainability Action and Adaptation (our goal is not Climate Change, it is Climate Action).” All Councilmember survey responses are included in Attachment B.
Community Feedback on Council Priorities
The City released an online survey seeking community input on Council priorities for 2025. The survey was conducted December 9, 2024- January 6, 2025 and collected a total of 431 community responses.
In addition to answering a general open-ended question on what 2025 priorities the Council should adopt, the survey asked respondents to prioritize the 2024 Council Priorities.
Survey Results:
QUESTION 1: Prioritize the 2024 City Council Priorities.
Average priorities over 431 responses:
1. Community Health, Safety, Wellness & Belonging
2. Housing for Social & Economic Balance
3. Economic Development & Transition
4. Climate Change & Natural Environment - Protection & Adaptation QUESTION 2: What are the priorities you would like to see the City Council adopt for 2025? 302 respondents answered the open-ended question with the following themes shared (in alphabetical order):
•Climate and Environment
•Community Building
•Economic Development
•Fiscal Responsibility
•Housing
•Infrastructure & Utilities
•Public Safety
Attachment C provides a more in-depth summary of the responses, including answers to open- ended comments and feedback. This attachment also provides emails received by the City Council on this topic through January 8, 2025.
Agenda Item 4. Selection of 2025 Council Priorities
To aid future retreats and priority setting processes, the Council Protocols and Procedures Handbook also articulates a set of value statements that represent long-term goals and vision for the community. The Palo Alto City Council has universally shared values that help guide our decisions and the work we do. These values state that the Council will make decisions that:
1. Balance revenues and expenses, now and in the future.
2. Are environmentally sustainable, now and in the future.
3. Will integrate equity into our decisions, considering how decisions affect people differently based on their identity or circumstances.
4. Create a healthy, safe and welcoming community for all.
5. Will safeguard public trust through transparent practices and open communication.
6. Will embrace innovation.
Acknowledging that no individual issue area is more important than another, the set of values recognizes a balanced and wholistic approach to Council policy setting.
The purpose of establishing priorities is to assist the Council and staff to better allocate and utilize time for discussion and decision making. Adhering to our established policy of focusing on a maximum of four priorities each year supports our effectiveness and meaningful progress on key issues. At the 2024 Annual Retreat, Council elected to continue the prior year’s priorities, shifting discussion toward longer term strategic approach to issues and initiatives.
With two new councilmembers, the 2025 Annual Retreat is the time to revisit priorities to ensure alignment with both fresh perspectives and emerging issues. Staff recommends that the Council again, take a longer-term strategic approach, focusing on issues and initiatives over a two-year period to allow for sustained progress and meaningful impact on priorities.
Agenda Item 5. Discussion on Strategies to Achieve Priorities The retreat provides an opportunity for Council to engage in a discussion of the “big picture” vision of what the Council would like to achieve over the year, and how the City’s decision- making structure should be used to this end. There may be overarching approaches, or strategies, that the Council will want to consider determining how best to advance its priorities.
To begin that discussion, staff has identified a few questions:
1. How does the Council envision its engagement in advancing the Priorities? If involving ad hoc committees, what should the committees be and what specific goals will be assigned to each committee?
At its 2024 Annual Retreat, the Council took a strategic approach to advancing its identified priorities, engaging in a thoughtful discussion on its envisioned role in each priority. This approach included the identification of ad hoc committees to advance specific goals. In 2024, there were seven Ad Hoc committees in addition to the Council’s Standing Committees (Finance, Policy & Services, Council Appointed Officers, and City/Schools Liaison): Retail, Stanford, Housing, Climate Action, Rail, Cubberley and El Camino Real, with the first five identified at the retreat and the last two added during the year. Ad hoc committee activities were reviewed at a Council Study Session on December 16, 20244.
On December 10, 2024 The Policy and Services Committee discussed and recognized that while the creation of the various ad hoc committees helped advance Council Priorities, the time and level of effort required to support the number of committees, including standing committees, stretched staff resources to the point of not being sustainable.
Staff reported that the current committee structure presents several challenges. First, the scope and purpose of some ad hoc Committees have evolved to address broad subject areas rather than specific topics. This development is not aligned with the purpose of ad hocs as outlined in the Council Handbook, and creates the need to follow Brown Act procedures.
Second, this broad focus has led to an indefinite duration for many ad hocs, which is a workload management challenge. Finally, much of the work funneled to ad hocs could be addressed within existing Standing Committees, ensuring that the nature of the work aligns with organizational priorities and makes better use of staff resources and capacity.
Staff recommends Council determine the ad hoc committees for 2025, reducing the number of ad hoc committees to align with the number of Council priorities (no more than 3-4). •To the extent continued hoc committees can be combined. For example, work envisioned on Cubberley could be combined with Housing. •Continuing work on rail grade separations is now entering a period of engineering over many months, such that Rail Committee work could integrated into Policy & Services or at least reduce the frequency of meetings to bimonthly or as needed. •Liaison with Stanford University has traditionally been handled by the Mayor.
2. Are there research projects or strategic questions that need to be answered in order to advance Council’s vision for each priority?
Depending on possible overarching questions, there may be the need for follow-up work by staff. As one example, it is clear that current funding sources are insufficient for the affordable housing production required by the Housing Element. Is there a process needed to evaluate options and develop a funding strategy? to develop new workplans and for Council to prioritize 4 Council Study Session on Ad Hoc Committee Activities 12/16/2024:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/meetings/ItemWithTemplateType?id=6707&meetingTemplateType=2&comp iledMeetingDocumentId=12596
new strategies among existing work. Subject to Council discussion of strategies, staff will follow up and return with recommendations accordingly.
Agenda Item 6. Initial Discussion of 2025 Objectives
Objectives are primarily defined as Council actions and engagement necessary during the calendar year to advance the stated priorities. Objectives are developed to align with and implement a Priority; they are time-bound and measurable. Following SMARTIE principles— Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely, Inclusive, and Equitable—Objectives outline the actions planned for the coming 12 months.
Following the adoption of Council Priorities in January, staff will evaluate existing Council- directed projects and workplans, as well as new legal or procedural mandates at the federal, state, or local levels that advance each Priority. A list of recommended Objectives will be presented to the Council beginning in February or March. This list will reflect careful consideration of capacity and resource requirements needed to implement and complete each Objective. Once adopted, a quarterly progress report is presented to Council. The 2024 Council Priorities and Objectives Q4 update was provided to Council on January 21, 20245 This agenda item provides the opportunity for Council to discuss and provide feedback on Objectives to consider in 2025.
Agenda Item 7. Next Steps
The final item on the agenda will close the retreat with a Council debrief of major actions taken and provide next steps for finalization of 2025 Objectives and Committee Workplans.
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
The community and the City Council have been solicited for their input and suggestions regarding the priorities. The community was engaged through the Open City Hall survey platform as well as email communication to City Council directly through [email protected].
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Council action on this item is not a project as defined by CEQA because the Council Retreat and discussion on the 2025 Priorities is a continuing administrative or maintenance activity (general policy and procedure making. CEQA Guidelines section 15378 (b)(2). 5 Council FYI 1/21/2025 Agenda Item Number 13 on 2024 Council Priorities and Objectives Q4 Update:
https://cityofpaloalto.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=15920
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: 2025 Annual Council Retreat Agenda
Attachment B: Council and Council-elect Survey Responses on 2025 Priorities Attachment C: Community Survey on 2025 Council Priorities APPROVED BY:
Ed Shikada, City Manager